Continuum of War: Episode 1: The Endless War
by Dairene
Summary: Continuum of War also called The Great Continuous War takes place in an alternate Star Wars Universe.  What if the Sith had allied with the Rakatans and the Dark Jedi  who won the Force Wars and exiled the followers of Ashia  among the ascendant humans?
1. Chapter 1

On board Jedi Star Destroyer _Jedi Dream_, en route to planet Sernpidal...  
Commander Tiffany Nguyen sighed unhappily to herself as the ship carrying them to the battlefield on Sernpidal soared through hyperspace. For, ever since her father had been killed and her mother went into a coma from a head injury, she had been raised by Jedi Masters who trained her fervently in the skills of war- from low-level hand-to-hand combat to the obscure, holistic skills of military tactics and battle meditation- all in the name of defending the tiny handful of planets still free from the seemingly inexorable armies of the Infinite Empire. The war had started long before she war born- in fact, before recorded history, even. At least, before the history the Jedi Order and the Republic had recorded. Like many other Jedi, Tiffany had heard rumors that deep within the bowels in the Imperial Library on the ecumenopolis of Coruscant, recorded feverishly by war-enamoured Imperial historians, was the true reason for the war. Not that any Jedi had set foot on Coruscant for centuries. Tiffany doubted the war would ever be over- if it did, it almost certainly wouldn't be a Jedi victory. She was sick of killing, but did she have any other option?  
"Tiffany, we're almost there," a grim voice intruded on her thoughts.

She looked up to see Commander Mitchell Qian. "Mitchell, why are we still fighting this hopeless war against an enemy we'll never be able to defeat?"

"Do we have any choice?" Michell retorted. "I know just as well as you the hopelessness of it all- we're outnumbered trillions to one. No matter how many enemies we kill, more will come. But if we don't fight, everything- everyone we care about will be destroyed!"

Tiffany sighed despairingly. "I guess you're right. Where's Lieutenant Commanders Amy and Anna Hwang, the twins? They're new to battle, so I'm supposed to guide them..."

"Oh, they're talking to Christine Xu, the other little girl, the one your friend Margaret is supposed to be taking care of. Newbies tend to babble a lot when they're frightened."

"There's another newbie? Why are they sending so many little kids into battle?"

"We're not much more than kids ourselves... And losses from last month n-need to be r-replaced," Mitchell choked back his emotions. "S-Sorry- I lost a few friends then."

"I'm sorry," Tiffany patted Mitchell on the back. "I know how you feel. I've lost a lost of friends in this cruel- "

"Attention all personnel!" A voice boomed over the intercom. "This is Admiral Ashreph! Exiting hyperspace in 17 seconds! All ship crew, to battlestations! All ground forces, to landing ships! Remember, we are deploying all ground forces as soon as we are within range!"

"Admiral's orders," Mitchell managed a forced smile. "See you later- assuming we live through this..."

"We _will _survive," Tiffany asserted, though she felt quite uncertain of it. "Better get going- those J-1 shuttle transports take a while to power up."

As Mitchell hurried his way, Tiffany rushed to the lounge to find three terrified lieutenant commanders: Amy, Anna, and Christine, a nervous commander and her good friend, Margaret Hu, as well as the serene Jedi General, Master Quang Du.

"Good, everyone's here!" Du acknowledged Tiffany's arrival. "Let's go to the shuttle!"

As the six of them hurried to the shuttle hangar, Margaret turned to Tiffany, "Oh hell, the planet's got irregular militias. Looking forward to being shot by guerrillas?"

Tiffany shuddered thinking of holofilms she had seen about Jedi facing guerrilla warfare. "At least Sernpidal doesn't have any jungles... it's not like Kasyyyk or Dxun. But I admit the Sernpidalians creep me out..." Pale-skinned with eyes that glowed red, they seemed to come straight out of a horror film.

"Strong supporters of the Sith they are," Margaret shook her head as they sat down in the J-1 shuttle _Quang Du_ and Master Du worked the controls of the shuttle named after him. "Anyway, have you seen the latest news update 15 minutes ago? The Empire's shipped another Strike Force- some 12 or 13 capital ships- to their fleet assembly base on Destrillon. It's a bit far off, but still within striking distance of us."

"Oh god, I hope they keep to themselves- or at least get held up by other Jedi forces on Artorias or Rychel... one second thought, bad idea. My sister is ther-"

"You have a sister?" Margaret raised an eyebrow. "You never told me!"

"Oh, her name's Kristina and she's younger than me- two years younger than Amy and Anna, even."

"Kristina Nguyen... I'll have to look her up in the Temple Archives."

"Hey! No stalking my sister!" Tiffany countered even as she felt the shuttle begin to move. "Hey, we must already be in Sernpidal's orbit..." She craned her head to look out the viewports.

"Don't bother," Margaret sighed wearily. "Don't you feel it through the Force? Besides, there's nothing to see but people blowing each other up as usual."

It was true. Clearing her mind, Tiffany could sense turbolasers, missiles, and explosions ripping through space. People's last feelings- despair or resignation- as they were blown apart, depressurized, or incinerated by energy beams. Most of those who perished were virtually mindless Imperial minions- pilots of cannon fodder like TIE Fighters or V-Wings- but every once in a while, there was a cry from a dying Jedi A-Wing pilot.

"I-It's horrible," Tiffany shuddered. "I've usually been so focused on my mission I rarely pay attention to what's happening through the Force during a space battle. Not that I've been in that many space battles. How do you stand it?"

"Well, there's a point beyond which you simply just stop caring," Margaret shrugged. "I agree it's terrible, but if you see, hear, and sense death every day, you get acclimated. Eventually you just care about yourself and your friends."

Tiffany nodded. "I know, I know, you old veteran. But I've been fighting battles for two years now but still there always seem to be something even more atrocious than the last."

"What's the worst thing you've ever seen?"

"Well, t-there was this one time on Birgis..." Tiffany shuddered. "where there was this Jedi boy named Derek- I think he was around our age. He'd been captured and enslaved by the Imperial garrison. K-killed himself by jumping in fron of an armored supply train. Found his guts and body parts all over the bushes around the tracks- a-after we liberated the base."

Margaret patted Tiffany and lowered her head solemnly. "I think I knew him. He was really fascinated by hist-"

All the Jedi suddenly froze, except for Quang Du, who turned the shuttle in a sharp turn as an Imperial Eta-2 interceptor fired madly at them. Luckily, a Jedi A-Wing spotted it and swiftly dived in to blow out the Eta's cockpit.

"Enemy fighter concentration is increasing in the vicinity as we enter the atmosphere," Quang Du called out. "We have two turrets on this shuttle. Who's up for target practice?"


	2. Chapter 2: Fall of Craig Lewis

On board J-1 shuttle _Craig Lewis_...  
Jedi Commander Priya Chittur fired from her ventral turret, vaporizing a small, avian-like fighter. "These aren't standard Imperial fighters! I've never seen the like before!"  
"Skylarks!" Master Craig Lewis shouted across the comm from the cockpit. "Cheap but nasty little things! Shoot for the big ones- those- Raider Gunships!"

Master Lewis threw the ship into a sharp turn to evade a trio of missiles streaking toward them, but an explosion rocked the side of the Jedi shuttle as cannonfire raked the engines. Priya fired madly in the approximate direction of the attacker and was rewarded when a hull-breached Corsair Raider spun out of control and collided with a Skylark, destroying both ships.

"We've lost the primary engines! I've activated emergency repulsorlifts, but this is still going to be a tough landing! _Brace, brace, brace!" _Master Lewis radioed from the cockpit.

"Hey Priya!" The voice of Priya's counterpart dorsal gunner, Commander Mitchell Qian emerged in her headset. "You concentrate on the damned Raiders! I'll pick off the annoying Skylarks!"

"Affirmative!" Priya responded, blasting yet another Raider and destroying a TIE Interceptor caught in the crossfire. "I'll- "

"AUGGH!" A shout came up then static clogged her comm channel. "Mitchell? MITCHELL!"

Silence. Then...

"Priya! Priya!" A different voice emerged. "This is Commander Eileen Liu. Mitchell's turret's been hit and Mitchell's hurt! I'm dragging him down to the passenger compartment."

Priya sighed in relief even as she continued shooting down Corsair gunships. "Is he okay?"

"Injuries aren't bad, turret's damaged, thou-"

"HOLY KRIFFING CRAP!" Master Lewis screamed expletively. "Twenty, no thirty starfighters inbound from stern! V-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE Fighters!"

Priya instantly turned her turret away from the Corsairs to engage the new attackers. A lucky shot sliced off the starboard wing of a V-Wing, sending the craft spinning away.

"KRIFF- ! They're launching proton torpedoes! I can't dodge so man-"

BOOM! The shuttle bucked and shook fiercely, and all communication cut off. Priya continued tenaciously to press down the turret trigger, laying down a relentless hail of fire even as her head slammed against the sides of the enclosed, convulsing turret and she lapsed into unconsciousness...

"NOOO! Mitchell!" Tiffany screamed in dismay as the _Craig Lewis _burst into flames and plummeted ever faster downward. Clamping her teeth together, she continued firing through her tears, shredding enemy V-Wings and TIEs, far too late for the _Craig Lewis_. Through her comlink, she could hear Margaret making similar, but incoherent sounds of grief and horror.

"This is terrible, but FOCUS!" shouted Master Quang Du. "We must not let their loss be in vain! The fighters are heading this way! If you don't shoot them down, more people will die! But be careful not to let anger cloud your vision!"

_Ridiculous! Ridiculous shit! _Tiffany cursed mentally as she vaporized a TIE Interceptor and a TIE Bomber. _How could she not let anger...? _She began to see red and fired vengefully left and right, downing every craft in sight. But still, hordes of fighters swooped toward the _Quang Du _shuttle like satanic birds. Then suddenly, they stopped coming. A murderous fusillade of turbolaser fire rained down from above, decimating the enemy formation in milliseconds and jolting Tiffany out of her battle rage. She looked up to see Jedi A-Wings swarming downward like vengeful angels.

"What took them so long?" Tiffany cried bitterly, almost whining, as she helped pick off surviving Imperial fighters. "Why couldn't they- "

"They were held up by disabling an enemy cruiser with the _Jedi Dream_," Master Du explicated patiently. "Let's land and see how many people we can rescue from the _Lewis _now, shall we?"

Chairman Sharden screamed inhumanly in frustration and rage at the now out-of-range Jedi shuttles. Swiping furiously at blood leaking from a wound in her forehead, she glanced around her. It was a total disaster. The Jedi had not only vaporized her escorts, they had crippled the _Descartes_, killed most of her crew, including Captain Darr, and escaped in the shuttles. A few, bold Jedi pilots continued to streak around the now defunt and defenseless cruiser, almost as if taunting her. No doubt they planned to board _Desaclates _and take it for themselves. She snarled again at the viewport and opened a secret control panel. She still had one more card to play- and she was determined to take as many Jedi with her as possible. She opened up a remote comm channel.

"Captain Arvel Cyrnyd? Are you there?"

"Captain Cyrnyd, standing by, ma'am!"  
"Take your A-Wing with Jedi markings and head to the surface. Evade any Imperial fighters, because they won't realize who you are. Find the shuttles' landing locations and strafe the hell outta them!"  
"Yes, ma'am!"  
Sharden smiled and turned off her comlink. She hurried to the control panel and opened a secret compartment. Inside was a single red button.  
"God bless the Empire!" she shouted and pressed it. _Desaclates _erupted instantly into a ball of flames, expanding rapidly to engulf several unfortunate Jedi A-Wings that had ventured too close to the cruiser.

Tiffany found herself shaking at the prospect of what she might find as the shuttle _Quang Du _cruised down to a gentle landing next to the wreckage of the _Craig Lewis_. Immediately, a lone figure raced out of the wrecked vessel's shell. Tiffany flung open the _Quang Du's _side hatch and jumped out. She recognized the lone figure as Commander Eileen Liu.  
"Are you OK?" Tiffany inquired anxiously. "How about everyone else?"  
"I-I guess I'm alright..." Eileen stated hesitantly. "Everyone alive e-except Master Lewis. He used the Force and shuttle controls to dampen the shuttle's crash and made it land cockpit-first, sacrificing himself."  
Tiffany lowered her head, then asked, "The others who survived- any injuries?"  
"Mostly minor, no major injuries. One Jedi Commander- named Priya Chittur- was knocked out, but she'll be OK."  
Master Quang Du hurried toward the pair. "Then let's quickly evacuate everyone to the Jedi bas- "  
"Look out!" came a shrill cry behind Tiffany. Everyone twisted around and saw Lieutenant Commander Anna Hwang pointing at the silhouette of a starfighter high in the sky.  
"Margaret! Power up the turret and acquire target, but hold fire!" Master Du ordered.  
A fraction of a second later, Margaret declared, "It's a Jedi A-Wing... but something feels wrong..."  
"Get everyone out of the _Craig Lewis _now!" Tiffany cried. "Now!"  
Panicked and startled, Eileen started to comply and Tiffany rushed to her side. Quang Du, Amy, and Anna raced over as well, and hauled out Commander Mitchell Qiang, one female Commander, as well as one male and one female Lieutenant Commander. They looked both alarmed and confused. "What's the matter? Why do we need to evac-"

Sudden cannon fire rained down from sky as the A-Wing opened fire, bolts sizzling into the rocky ground.

"Run!" Tiffany gestured toward the _Quang Du _as she pulled out her lightsaber and Margaret began laying down covering fire. BOOM! The A-Wing's fire sheared into the _Craig Lewis_, detonating its fuel rods as the nimble fighter made a strafing run. It turned for a new strafing pass on the still-parked _Quang Du_. Master Du flung open the cockpit door and punched on the ignition, but he knew it would never power up fast enough. The enemy fighter screamed close... then BOOM! The Jedi winced, expecting the end, but found themselves unharmed.

"Phew! I hit it," Margaret cheered weakly.

"A bit late," Master Du stated, "But the engines are up. Let's head to base camp."

Priya looked around at a large camp of empty tents in a desert landscape. "_Where am I?" _she wondered. "_Oh, wait, I'm probably dreaming." _She peered closely- sometimes her dreams came true. Voices, shadows began to float by, vague and indistinct, but Priya knew they were people fleeing from something. Suddenly, one tent flung open and out ran Commander Eileen Liu and Lieutenant Commander Woo-Ju Kim, Priya's protege. Eileen ran past Priya, but Woo-Ju tripped and fell. Priya tried to run to her assistance, but her feet felt as if they were fastened in place by iron bolts. Woo-Ju began to scramble to her feet, but two T-47 sandspeeders swooped out of the sky and strafed the tents, which exploded into flames, engulfing Woo-Ju.

"Noo!" Priya into empty air. "Woo-Ju!" Sudden light assaulted her eyes and she wondered if she was burning too. Then her pupils adjusted and she found herself in a well-illuminated tent full of medical supplies and a concerned-looking Commander Eileen Liu.  
"Are you alright? I heard you cry out..."  
"I had a bad dream... or a Force vision. We'll find out with time. How long was I out?"  
"Oh... a couple of hours. No serious injuries. The camp commander, Master Ashley Jones, put you in a healing trance. Luckily, everyone... well, everyone except Master Lewis survived the crash." Both lowered their heads in momentary silence. Then Eileen continued, "Want food? Or water?"  
"I'll have a glass of water, thank you."  
Eileen handed her a glass and Priya gulped it down.  
"Maybe you want to meet everyone in camp?"  
"I suppose so..." Priya eased herself out of bed. They walked out of the tent into the dim Sernpedalian twilight where groups of Jedi and non-Force sensitive Jedi Volunteer Militiamen were milling around, doing menial tasks or eating rations. Priya followed Eileen to a central tent guarded by a large number of Jedi Militiamen. The guards conducted a rapid iris scan and admitted them. Inside, an adult female Jedi Master was busy speaking to a young male Jedi Commander and a Jedi Lieutenant Commander Priya recognized as her protege, Woo-Ju Kim, whom had arrived on-planet only two days earlier. To the side, one other female Jedi Commander stood waiting patiently.  
"Greetings, Master Jones," Eileen saluted.  
"Ah, yes, Eileen, Priya," the Jedi Master smiled kindly but tiredly. "Priya, I was worried you wouldn't wake up in time, so I was briefing this young man here to take your place training young Woo-Ju."  
"Hi Priya!" Woo-Ju smiled. "Glad to see you're well."  
"Thanks. Glad to see you're OK too."  
The young man who was Woo-Ju's mentor-to-be turned around and froze in astonishment.

Priya gasped in surprise when she realized it was her friend Thomas.

Priya!" Thomas cried in delight, throwing his arms around her. "I haven't seen you in so long!"

Priya felt a huge smile spread across her face even as she found herself at a loss for words. She had trained with him in the Jedi Temple for years together. They had even fought together on a raid against a droid outpost on the icy planet of Helska IV, where Thomas had saved her life. However, Priya had been badly wounded that mission and was sent back to the Jedi Temple for treatment and had never seen Thomas since... until now.

"What a coincidental... I mean Force-guided reunion!" Master Jones smiled in delight. "These harsh times afford little joy to us all." She then turned to Eileen. "Please escort Woo-Ju back to the her tent. I will speak to Priya and Thomas about reassignment issues." Then she paused as Eileen left and asked Priya and Thomas, "Would you mind waiting for a second? This young lady here, Commander Joyce Su, has been waiting for a while, so I want to let her speak first."

"Yeah, sure," Priya nodded.

"Well, you see, the Force tells me our strategy is flawed here and we should launch our attack tomorrow morning instead of tonight..." Joyce blurted out, and soon Master Jones and her were in deep discussion. In the meantime, Priya and Thomas had entered a engrossing conversation, as both had many tales to tell one another.

About one kilometer away from base camp...

Tiffany Nguyen marched on patrol with her newly reunited old friend, Connie Huang, whom she had not seen in many months. Despite being in a hostile environment in which danger permeated the air, Tiffany was still glad to be with her friend.

"I'm surprised my trainees- Amy and Anna Hwang- weren't assigned patrol duty too."

"Master Jones won't have any of those little kids out here unless they're experienced volunteers," Connie laughed. "Sernpedelian guerrillas are especially hazardous."

"After their nerve-wracking flight onto the planet? Amy and Anna'll never volunteer."

"It wasn't so bad for us. We were easily able to ferry platoons of militiamen onto the planet with moderate resistance. But on the ground, we were plagued by consistent Sernpedalian guerrilla attacks. We had to move base a couple of times."

"I know, I was briefed," Tiffany replied. "And the Empire brought in more starfighters?"

"Escort Carriers and star destroyers have been flying in every other day to disgorge more squadrons. I think the _Jedi Dream _and your task force took out the bulk of them, though."

"Good," Tiffany nodded. Then she added. "In a few moments we'll cross paths with Commander Mitchell Qian and his apprentice."

"Reassuring to know that the other patrols weren't jumped by Sernpedalians." Connie grinned. "I can sense them coming."

"By the Force, Master Jones planned route patrols well," Tiffany laughed. "Patrols can check on each other regularly. and not be too lonesome."

"Here they are!" Connie waved to two rapidly approaching figures. Within a minute, Mitchell and his Lieutenant Commander protege rode up in a pair of tauntauns.

"You bastards! Why didn't we get any steeds!" Tiffany demanded.

Mitchell laughed. "Master Jones gave us two that had been captured from Sernpedalian bandits. By the ways, this is Lieutenant Commander David Guo. He volunteered fro patrol duty."

"Hi, David!"

"Hello, girls," David replied unenthusiastically.

A sudden noise startled them and the four tensed, reaching for their lightsabers. Then

they saw it was only a scavenging ranat rodent.

"Oh, just a harmless ranat. Wore they can do is get into our food stores."

"Stupid animals," David scoffed.

"They have acute hearing," Connie frowned. "We use them as fairly good indicators of ambush- through there certainly are false alarms... What could it be fleeing from?"

"Wouldn't that be us?" Mitchell asked.

"Shh! Listen!" Tiffany hissed. "I have a bad feeling about this!" A low droning sound had begun in the distance and seemed to grow ever closer.

"Speeders! Or probe droids!" Connie declared in alarm.

"Quick! Use the Force to mask us from lifeform sensors!" Mitchell ordered as the four Jedi plus two tauntauns crammed into a narrow crevasse at the side of a rocky ridge.

"Whoops, my bad," David said, not sound the least bit regretful as he let go of his tauntaun's leash.

"You fool!" Mitchell chided angrily as the animal hopped away. "We can't even go after it!"

At that moment, two T-47 sandspeeders tore out from behind a mountain and screamed right by.

"Whew..." Mitchell began, but froze when the speeders suddenly wheeled around and doubled back toward them. Tiffany felt her breath catch in her thorat and she pulled out her lightsaber. But instead of converging on them, the T-47s focused in on David's escaped tauntaun and opened fire, brutally frying it with their forward cannons. Then they flew away from the blackened corpse and zoomed into the distance.

"Oh, shit!" Mitchell cursed.

"It's only a tauntaun," David snorted. "Nothing to-"

"Not that!" Mitchell hissed. "They're headed toward base camp!"

Tiffany took charge. "Connie, you stay here with David! Use the Force and try to alert someone at base! Like Master Jones! And...and... Margaret Hu! Mitchell, you and I will take this tauntaun back to base!" As they leaped on, she continued, "You try to reach Eileen! I'll try to alert Amy and Anna! Real damn we aren't allowed to use radios!"

"I hope this works," Mitchell replied grimly, galvanizing the tauntaun into a gallop. "Because we can only get back in time to help the wounded and repair damage.

Master Ashley Jones was applying finishing touches to the latest battle plans when she felt a rippling disturbance in the Force. It was a call from one of her patrolling sentries- Lieutenant Commander David Guo. He was warning- something about enemy aircraft- incoming. She felt a twinge of regret at not allowing the sentries to use comlinks- they were so much more efficient- but were dangerously easy to detect.

She dropped her pen and prepared to raise the alarm, when two twin Lieutenant Commanders, Amy and Anna, burst into the tent, followed by harassed-looking militiamen. "Tiffany just warned us two T-47 sandspeeders are converging on our base!" they cried out in sync.

"Alright!" she pressed the general alarm button. Sirens and lights began to blare and flash. "Arouse Master Du and have him power up the shuttles! Arm the turrets! I'll make a general announcement and raise the anti-aircraft guns!"

Priya was finishing her delicious broiled nerf soup- the first proper food she's eaten in a long time- when the general alarm sounded. She scrambled to her feet as a team of Jedi Militiamen stormed past.

"What happened ?" She questioned anxiously. They failed to hear her and disappeared in the labyrinth of tents. She rushed after them, but lost them quickly in the unfamiliar campground. With the Force, she probed to ascertain the problem, but the Force registered a camp full of alarmed people and interference was too great for an accurate reading. But she felt a pulsation of danger- some distance, perhaps half a kilometer- and approaching rapidly. Some form of aircraft or speeder. Too focused on projecting her Force senses in the distance, she collided directly into Commander Joyce Su.

"What- " Priya began to ask.

"Troops, arm yourselves, and evacuate northward! Two T-47 sandspeeders are approaching from the south! Anti-Aircraft turrets have been activated, but precaution is necessary! Immediate blackout effective now!" Master Jones declared over the intercom.

Priya gaped in horror as she belatedly remembered her dream. "Woo-Ju!" she cried and ran to seek out their tent, barrelling straight through a group of fleeing commanders and militiamen. She was now disoriented and nearly hysterical, but remembered the tent was somewhere to the south of the camp.

"No, you can't- !" Joyce cried in alarm. "Everyone has to evacuate north!" Priya failed to heed her and raced off. In horror, Joyce raced after her. Then, miraculously, Priya reached the tent she and Woo-Ju had been assigned- and the light inside was still on.

Suddenly, the two Imperial T-47s swooped out of the sky toward their base, the shrill shriek of their engines striking terror into the Jedi. Woo-Ju tore out of the tent in a panic, but stumbled on the very rocky and uneven ground, falling face-first.

"No! Woo-Ju!" Priya raced forward in horror.

The T-47s unleashed a fusillade of savage blaster cannon fire that incinerated tents left and right. The anti-aircraft guns replied with an equally vicious barrage, but unlike the T-47s which were shooting at large, immobile targets, many- but not all- of their shots missed the nimble sandspeeders.

As flames and explosions erupted around her, Priya scrambled through a massive dust cloud to where Woo-Ju's silhouette lay prone and crawled to shield her new apprentice. She didn't even wince when a fragment of wood struck her shoulder and tumbled to cut a gash across her back. Abruptly, the bombardment stopped as the speeders sped away, both slightly damaged by ground fire. Priya looked up hopefully, only to have her hopes dashed as the two aircraft curved around and returned for a second strafing run; they had merely moved out to regroup. Quickly, she seized Woo-Ju, who groaned in pain, and began to drag as far from the danger as possible. Joyce materialized by Priya's side and aided her in bringing the wounded apprentice away. The two airspeeders screamed in, and Priya could feel a sense in triumph in the pilots, that they took delight in this chance to slaughter young Jedi. But this time, the anti-air turrets were prepared and had corrected their aim. Blaster bolts in the dozens screeched through the air all along their flight path, creating a wall of fire. Priya could feel Master Jones through the Force, coordinating and connecting the minds of the disparate gunners with their diverse, makeshift guns. The pilots minds screamed dismay at their failure to kill more Jedi, but settled into acceptance of their martyrdom just before searing heat cut through their T-47s and transformed them both into greasy stains in the sky.

Five kilometers away, on a ridge overlooking the Jedi encampment...

Recon Trooper Odie Subu lowered her electrobinoculars and smiled triumphantly. The foolish Jedi that thought themselves so secure would soon meet their doom. She lifted up her comlink and prepared to summon her superior- Lieutenant Daine Jir- then paused. Lieutenant Jir was a misogynist parasite who would take all the credit for himself. She would report it to the base personally and ensure no one would seize her glory. She mounted her 74-Z speeder bike and quickly sped back to her garrison.


	3. Chapter 3: The Battle Commences

Infinite Empire Garrison Base, Jule Desert, Planet Sernpedial

Sith General Mon Halan stormed back and forth across the room before his subservient subordinates, fuming in rage. He looked from Stormtrooper Lieutenant Daine Jir to Sernpidal Militia Captain Colonna to Sith Trooper Commander Grann.

"Why the hell have we not found those damn Jedi shuttles?! Fools! The Empire has supplied you incompetent imbeciles with scout troops, elite stormtroopers and Sith troopers, not to mention numerous starfighter squadrons! But not only have you failed to stop the Jedi from acquiring an invasion beachhead, you can't even locate the invasion beachhead! What should I do with you all?! You better improve or you'll all end up trooper foot soldiers!"

At that moment, the security holophone at the door beeped. "Who dares to disturb me?" Halan roared. "Colonna, answer the door!"

Captain Colonna complied and a hologram of a Sith Officer door guard appeared.

"What is it, Major?"

"Recon Trooper here to see you, my lord. Claims- "

"Just send her in and I'll see about her claims!"

A moment later, Colonna opened the door and two Sith troopers roughly shoved Recon Trooper Odie Subu through.

The trooper opened her mouth and stammered, "I-I'm a Recon Trooper under Lieutenant Daine Jir..." She glanced at her officer, who was glaring angrily at her. "I was on patrol near Kr-"

General Halan was too impatient. "What the hell is up, trooper?! I haven't got all day!" He swiped at the young woman and knocked her painfully onto her rear end.

"I'm sorry, General-! I just- "

"Will sorry repair my wasted time? Report little matters to your lieutenant!" The general nudged her face with his boot. "Hey," he grinned and looked lasciviously up and down at Subu's body. "You're a pretty good-looking young lad- "

"The Jedi are in Krayt-112 Valley!" Subu blurted in disgust.

General Halan froze and his eyes glinted. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Trooper, you are promoted to Colonel!" Then he wheeled on the three unit commanders. "This little trooper has succeeded where all you incompetent bastards couldn't!"

"With all due respect, General," Captain Colonna interjected. "She is a Recon Trooper. That is her job."

"Shut up, Captain!" Halan snapped. "I'm sending you to test the strength of the Jedi defenses! Take your militia people and attack their base! You probably won't survive, but I don't give a shit."

Captain Colonna lowered his head and nodded subserviently. "As you wish, my lord."

Night Sentry Outpost Beta, Near Jedi Base Camp...

Nighttime on Sernpidal

Mitchell yawned and turned lazily to Connie. "Do you really think we need to be doing sentry duty at this late an hour? I mean, how likely are the Imperials to attack this late?" He leaned back to gaze at Sernpidal's smaller moon, Dobido, which was in almost full-phase that night.

"Oh, I don't know. But we'd better be careful," Connie replied to Mitchell's question. "Master Jones thinks the earlier T-47 attacks could have been a scout force."

"No doubt they were, but I'm sure we destroyed them quickly enough." Abruptly, he checked his chrono. "Our watch is almost over. Priya and Joyce should be showing up any time now..."

"Wait! I sense someone!" Connie leaped up.

"Is it them?" Michell looked up, rather surprised. "It's.. a bit early. Not quite time."

"No, it's coming from the other sentry post..."

"Hostiles?" Mitchell leaped to his feet as well, hand on his lightsaber.

"No, it's Jedi... but there's trouble. There!"

Two figures came around a ridge where Connie pointed and jogged quickly toward them, whereupon Mitchell saw it was two young women, a Jedi Colonel and a Commander.

The Colonel came to a halt, panting slightly, and saluted as soon as she had caught her breath. Mitchell and Connie returned the salute.

""Hello, Connie," the Colonel smiled artificially, as if out of habit. To Mitchell, she said, "You must be new. I'm Colonel Pamela Steger. This is Commander Eileen Liu."

"I'm Mitchell Qian..."

"Right, we're to warn you about enemy forces. Less than ten minutes ago, we spotted an armored vehicle convoy headed toward camp. I sent a shortwave-burst to Master Jones who dispatched Joyce on tauntaun, who told us to inform you, while Joyce went on to alert the third sentry post. Unfortunately, we ran into a pair of Prowler 1000 drones. We destroyed them but have no ideal of how much they were able to transmit.

"Alright, let's move," Mitchell declared. "So Master Jones wants us back at camp?"

"No, Dr. Jones wants us to disperse and conduct hit-and-run attacks to harass the enemy while camp is evacuated. Details are up to us."

"I suggest we find out what the enemy force is. What kind of flag or insignia did they have?"

"A green-white-red flag with a coat of arms in the middle, white section with some sort of crown above it. No clue what the heck it was."

"Don't worry, I can't identify many flags either," Mitchell replied sympathetically. "Do you know, Connie?"

"No. Anyway, more importantly, we need to fight them- like right now. What kind of vehicles? Hovercraft? What infantry?"

"No hovercraft- all ground vehicles," Eileen replied. "AS.42 armored half-tracks. Infantry are human and Sernpedalian, carrying mismatched rifles and pistols, probably local militia. The foot soldiers' slow speed is delaying the entire enemy column."

"Should be easy prey, then," Mitchell shrugged. "Let's go!"

On the outskirts of the Jedi Camp, Tiffany, Priya, and two squads of Jedi Militiamen had constructed a barricade and prepared an ambush to delay and distract the enemy forces.

Tiffany radioed a Jedi Commander named Kerry Zhang, who was commanding another ambush post. Since the enemy probably already knew their base camp location, there was no need for radio silence. "All ready?"

"Absolutely. They're already by our position so you guys keep a sharp eye out and give us the signal to strike!"

"No problem!"

The enemy convoy was by now trundling into range of the makeshift barricade. The lead half-track fired a couple of shots at the barricade, igniting a wooden barrel.

Tiffany rushed forth into view of the enemy column. "Stop! Put down your weapons and surrender or face the wrath of the Jedi Army!"

All the Imperial soldiers raised their guns as if to shoot, but paused.

From the third vehicle in the convoy, a man in a fancy uniform disembarked out in an imperious manner. "I am Captain Colonna from the Auto-Saharan Company of the Royal Cfvywrus Army! Who are you to stop the Imperial advance?" He leaned in to the driver of the first half-track. "If she doesn't get out of the way, run her over!"

Tiffany ignited her lightsaber. "Me and a multitude of Jedi and militiamen stand ready to resist your advance! Any soldier who dares attack or approach me will die!"

Captain Colonna burst out laughing and his men soon followed suit. "Jedi fools! Shoot her!" The Imperial forces then opened fire and Tiffany parried, while well-aimed shots from the hidden Jedi Militiamen picked off the Imperial soldiers. The enemy column quickly adjusted their fire toward Priya and Kerry's positions. The great volume of deflected bolts streaking back at the Imperial soldiers assured Tiffany that Priya and her militiamen were doing their job, as was Kerry and his soldiers. When the gunner of the second AS.42 vehicle collapsed from a deflected bolt, Captain Colonna angrily clambered into the dead gunner's place and whisked the turret around to face Tiffany. The commander was quickly struck down by two accurate shots from a Jedi Militia Sniper, further throwing the enemy into disarray. Blasterfire ricocheted everywhere, and some of the enemy vehicles turned around and began to pull away. Nonetheless, the enemy infantry they disgorged, or had escorted them, continued to advance, throwing themselves relentlessly at the Jedi forces, with little regard for their own casualties. Tiffany pressed her attack furiously, parrying bolts back to slay a turret gunner and cutting down two infantrymen as they emerged around an armored vehicle. She had hoped the ferocity of her and the other Jedis' defense would scare the inexperienced enemy militia into breaking ranks and running. But the enemy, while beginning to retreat slowly, was stubbornly firing their guns, albeit immensely inaccurately.

"Kerry, scatter your men on the ridge and fire from all directions!" Tiffany muttered urgently into her headphone.

"Affirmative!" Kerry responded. Shadows flickered along the ridge, and seconds later, blaster bolts rained down on the flank of the attacking Cfvywrus column. No longer able to sustain their losses, the enemy finally turned and fled, halftracks rolling and infantry running after them.

"Ceasefire!" Tiffany barked into her comlink, and all blasterfire came to a ragged stop.

"What for?" Kerry complained. "They'll just come back to attack us later, the Imperial scum."

"Be careful," Tiffany attempted a stern voice. "Be careful of the dark side- or so Master Du says. Besides, if we kill them while they're retreating, it'll only strengthen their resolve to fight to the death. Or they'll keep firing and fighting as they retreat, to inflict maximum damage on us. They stop firing, we stop firing." She clambered across the craggy rocks until she found a wounded Jedi Militiaman. He was unconscious, having taken a blaster bolt on the right side of his chest that narrowly missed his heart. Tiffany held her hand over the prone man and closed her eyes- in her mind's eye, she channeled the Force to stimulate his cells to regenerate, reduce shock and excessive inflammation, and rupture pathogenic organisms on the wound surface. She opened her eyes and smiled- the man would survive, and rescue teams would be here soon- then move on to find her next patient.

Two hours later… when Tiffany, Kerry, Priya, and their troops trundled back into camp, wounded soldiers, prisoners, and rescue teams in tow, Master Jones was there to greet them.

"Thank goodness!" She exclaimed. "Are you all ok?"

"Two Militiamen are dead," Tiffany replied glumly. "We gave them a proper burial in the soil of the planet they died fighting for. Our losses are… fewer… than usual, but still too many. A dozen are injured, to varying extents, but they'll survive."

"We killed about eighty-something Imperials to make them pay," Kerry replied savagely. "Three were taken prisoner, but Tiffany and Priya wouldn't let us kill them."

"Kerry! Watch out for your feelings! Those emotions lead to the dark side," Master Jones rebuked, shocked.

"So? Maybe it's what we need to win. I'm sick of this war. Some of the best Jedi fighters in history channeled their hatred and anger to achieve their full potential!"

"And how many of those Jedi were consumed by arrogance, greed for power and recognition, and ultimately the dark side? Then defected to the Empire, further miring us into the predicament we find ourselves today?" She turned and returned to the camp. "Priya, we'll have shuttles coming in soon. Prepare the fighters to defend them if necessary. Tiffany, Kerry- come on, let's see what the medical teams need help with."

Tiffany and Kerry glanced at each other, shrugged, then followed the Jedi Master back into the camp.


End file.
